Some events during the past twelve months...

Devoran School

St. Piran's Day, Monday 5th March, saw some members of Hevva at Devoran School to run a series of Cornish dance workshops. These covered four classes, and were an ideal activity for the pupils on Cornwall's Saint's day, and proved to be very popular.

Nos Dons Kernewek

The Cornish Dance Society holds a regular Day of Dance, which this year took place at Perranporth on Saturday 17th February. The day ended with a Nos Dons Kernewek (Cornish dance evening), with several traditional Cornish dance groups contributing, including Hevva who performed a display followed by a short ceili spot.
For a contrast, swing group Swing Out West were invited to perform a guest spot, which was well received and rounded off a very enjoyable evening.

Ladock School

On Monday 5th February we visited Ladock Primary School in mid-Cornwall to introduce the pupils there to traditional cornish dancing. We were rewarded by a very enthusiastic set of youngsters, who obviously enjoyed the dances they were learning. An added fascination for them were the gooks that we took in to show them, which they all were keen to try on!

Anniversary party

This being our 10th year as Hevva, we just had to celebrate with a
party, which we held on 16th December. This was a lovely social
occasion, made all the more so by the fact that usually when we meet
we're either practicing or performing. 2017 was a great year all
round for us, and we're looking forward to many more!

Lowender Peran

Our annual trip to Cornwall's Celtic festival, Lowender Peran, was
an event that we once again thoroughly enjoyed. The festival took
place in Newquay, 2nd - 5th November. The change of venue to Hotel
Bristol proved very popular, and this is where the festival will
celebrate its 40th anniversary next year.

Hevva danced in the Celtic Spectacular on the Friday evening, and
at various pub venues around Newquay on the Saturday and Sunday.

School workshops

On 27th September we visited St. Mary's C of E School in Truro to
give dance workshops to the Reception Class and Years 1 and 2. These
proved very successful, with the pupils ending up dancing some
Cornish dances extremely well, and also learning some of the history
both of the dances and our costume. Particularly popular was the
opportunity to try on bits and pieces of the costume! This was a
very rewarding morning for us, and we were pleasantly surprised also
to hear ourselves being greeted in Cornish - well done St. Mary's!

Celtic Congress Fair

The fair, in the west Cornwall village of Leedstown, was a
fundraising event for the Cornish branch of the Celtic Congress.
Hevva entertained the visitors with a dance display during the
afternoon.

Newlyn Fish Festival

On 28th August, Late Summer Bank Holiday Monday, we were appearing
in the sunshine at Newlyn Fish Festival in west Cornwall. This
festival, now in its 28th year, is hugely popular with locals and
tourists alike, and offers an enormous range of interest and
entertainment relating to the sea, seafood and fishing, raising
money for the Fishermen's Mission at the same time.
Hevva were dancing on the Busker's Corner stage on Mary Williams
Pier during the afternoon, where large crowds were enjoying the
sunshine and all that the festival had to offer.

Festival interceltique Lorient

2017 is Hevva's 10th year in its present incarnation, and what a
year it's proving to be! Following on from our trip to Martinique in
June, we were honoured to be representing Cornwall in early August
at the Festival Interceltique Lorient in Brittany. With 700,000
visitors each year, this is the largest interceltic festival in the
world, and we thoroughly enjoyed every moment of our busy ten days
there.
We were privileged to have playing with us our good friends Stu and
Jamie, of MacQuarrie and Toms fame, who also put on some great
performances under their own name. In fact so good were the Cornish
groups this year, MacQuarrie and Toms, The Grenaways, The Swaggers
and Rowan Tree - and dare it be said, Hevva? - that the Cornish/Manx
stage was the go-to venue on the quayside at night.

Folk on the Farm

The mid-Cornwall village of St. Stephen holds regular Folk on the
Farm events, and on 29th July we were there to perform a ceili in
aid of Children's Hospice Southwest, a charity we were pleased to
support. The event was held in one of the farm barns, where the
owners also laid on a wonderful array of food and drink, including a
hog roast and home made cakes and desserts - wonderful! A lovely
evening.

You can find out more about Children's Hospice southwest at www.chsw.org.uk.

Martinique

Our longest trip to date took us to the Caribbean, to Ville du
François in Martinique. We were there to perform in the island's
Quadrille Dance and Music Festival, and what an amazing experience
it was! The islanders are wonderful people, and made us so welcome.
Our hosts made sure that we enjoyed ourselves not only at the
festival, but also with a fascinating trip to a rum factory and a
day out by boat for a swim on a reef followed by a delicious beach
barbecue.
We have returned with so many great memories to look back on.

Royal Cornwall Show

The Royal Cornwall Show hosts the Cornwall Festival of Dance, and
Hevva were there on the show Saturday, 10th June, to perform during
the day, with spots in the morning and afternoon. this has become
quite a regular event for us, and something we look forward to each
year.

Lanlivery Feast Week

On 12th May we paid a visit to Lanlivery to perform a ceili for the
village's Feast Week. The unusual venue was the lovely setting of
Lanlivery Parish Church, where we were relieved to discover the pews
are moveable! With a very lively set of dancers of all ages, this
was a boisterous and fun event that kept our caller on his toes all
evening!

Nos Dons Kernewek

The Cornish Dance Society decided to change the format of its
annual Day of Dance this year, and instead ran an evening of Cornish
dance - Nos Dons Kernewek. This proved to be very popular. The event
was held at Porthtowan Village Hall on 5th May, with a ceili
provided by musicians and callers from the various Cornish dance
groups, and each group performing a short floor spot during the
evening.

Pennseythen Gernewek

We were delighted to be asked by Kowethas an Yeth Kernewek once
more to perform a bilingual ceili at its annual Cornish Language
Weekend. The event took place in Newquay on 8th April, where we
played to a full floor of Cornish speakers and learners, and also
displayed a few dances. Cornish culture at its best!

Cwlwm Celtaidd

Our first festival of the year was a return visit to Porthcawl,
Wales, over the weekend 10th - 12th March for Cwlwm Celtaidd. This
was a full weekend, with school visits, stage performances, a
workshop and street dancing, but hugely enjoyable.